Over the course of a video conversation from my spare bedroom, I was successful in persuading Alejandro Garnacho to sign with Manchester United.

Nick Cox, who is in charge of Manchester United’s youth programs, says that left Garnacho was signed in 2020, even though the COVID pandemic made things difficult.

Nick Cox, who is in charge of Manchester United’s youth teams, talked about how the club managed to sign Alejandro Garnacho despite Covid’s problems.

The Argentine player moved from Atletico Madrid to the club when he was 16 years old, in October 2020. In 2021/22, he helped the youth team win the FA Youth Cup. That same season, he moved up to the first team. In April 2022, Garnacho played his first game in the Premier League against Chelsea. In just five games, he scored his first league goal for the club, a late winner against Fulham in November 2022.

Since then, the 19-year-old has played every game for Erik ten Hag’s team. Five goals have been scored by Garnacho in the Premier League this season. Two of those goals came in the 3-0 win over West Ham. There was a time in 2020 when United was looking for a 16-year-old winger who could make a mark on the first team. Cox has explained how Garnacho was chosen as the right player.

The move was made during Covid, which means that the player had to be persuaded to make it through video talks. And that came with its own problems.

“I had to use a translator and do that from my spare bedroom over video call,” Cox said. “My 12 and 10 year old boys were fighting while I was trying to sign Alejandro. I remember it like it was yesterday.” I still tell my boys, “If that argument had gone on for a lot longer, we probably wouldn’t have Alejandro Garnacho at Manchester United!”

The fight in the background didn’t stop Garnacho or his parents from moving to Manchester, which is good. People say the rest is history.